The Indonesian weather is too hot for athletes taking part in the on-going 14th ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet (AARM) held in the shooting range of the Infantry Division of the Indonesian Army's Strategic and Reserve Command in West Java's Cilodong area, says a Malaysian participant.

Zabaidah of the Malaysian Army, who takes part in the pistol event, said that Indonesia's weather is much hotter than that of her country, particularly the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah.

"But I will try my best to win an event," Zabaidah who has joined the Malaysian military as a woman military police for 14 years.

Zabaidah's participation in the 14th AARM in West Java is the second of its kind after she took part in the 13th AARM held in Malaysia last year.

In the 13th AARM in Malaysia, Zabaidah came in the fourth position of the pistol event.
She said she had trained for three months in the face of the on-going ASEAN firing competition. She has also taken part in a number of shooting competitions held within the Malaysian army. "I have developed shooting skill for 12 years," Zabaidah said.

Deputy Chief of Indonesia's Army Lt. Gen. Djoko Santoso officially opened the 14th AARM on Wednesday. It will last from September 1 to 8, 2004.

About 500 shooters from the 10 ASEAN armies are taking part in the army firing competition.